When Kaitlin first mentioned the Fresh and Easy cocktail party to me last week I had other plans and couldn’t make it. But, my plans ended up getting pushed and I was able to attend as Kaitlin’s +1!

The event was held at an event space in Culver City called Smog Shoppe. Smog Shoppe is an event space that, unlike the name would suggest, is super green. The space was outside but covered and very LA. Apparently it’s a hot wedding spot! Here is an idea of what the space looked like:

The event was hosted by Fresh and Easy to promote a new line of California wine’s that they are rolling out. I’ve been to Fresh and Easy several times and love how affordable it is. The event also featured food from Fresh and Easy and we participated into a wine tasting for four of the new wines. All the ingredients for a great event! Another great ingredient? Amanda and Andy!

Why do I have no pictures of Amanda and Andy together?

Even though I was late to the event (blame it on the LA traffic) I didn’t miss too much. Kaitlin and I were able to hit the bar for our first glass before the tasting got underway.

I tried a glass of “I heart CA” because, as we all know, I heart CA!

I forget what kind of wine this was… but I can tell you I liked it 😉

Shortly after getting our wine they began the presentation. The resident wine expert at Fresh and Easy, Richard, filled us in on the creation of the wines.

Please note Amanda and I taking creeper pictures of each other.

And then the tasting began! We tried 4 wines: Pinot Gris, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet.

First up: Open Field Pinot Gris

I liked the Pinot Gris. I don’t normally order white wine, but the pinot gris was my favorite of the white wines.

Wine 2: Cloud Valley Chardonnay

Confession: no picture of the glass, but I do have a picture of me drinking it! Another confession? Chardonnay has never been my fav but clearly that didn’t stop me from enjoying it.

At this point I realize that I had been drinking on a post 4 mile run empty stomach (bad girl) and I made a bee line for the cheese and meat spread. I immediately isolated the location of the prosciutto and filled up my napkins.

Third wine: Open Field Pinot Noir

This was hands down my favorite and the favorite of the group.

Pinot Noir is my favorite type of wine. This one was jam-ey and delicious. As Kaitlin pointed out, it would pair well with breakfast and peanut butter! Not that I would ever have wine with breakfast….

Fourth and Final: Barrel Ranch Cabernet

The cab was pretty tasty too. What can I say? I’m a red wine kind of girl!

We also got to play a fun game where we guessed the prices of the wines.

There was a lot of debate at our table when it came to our guesses. Andy and Kaitlin we’re all about the cents. These kinds of event always bring out my competitive nature. Lucky for all of us, we guessed the correct price of the Cab down to the penny! What did we win?

Winning! Wine! Duh.

After the tasting portion of the night was over they brought on the food. Thank goodness! I needed some substance in my stomach.

 

We all know how I feel about brie.

We didn’t actually get any beef, but Chef Cindy (above) made it up to us by bringing over a plate of cookies later!

So tasty! Not to mention that it had giant chunks of avocado!

 

At some point, in the middle of all the food eating, Amanda, Andy, Kaitlin and I decided we needed more Pinot Noir. Kaitlin went for more and came back with an entire bottle!

And this is when the party really got started…

Typical blogger shenanigans ensued including tweeting

Please note that I’m in Kaitlin’s auto correct. That is a sign of true friendship.

We also got nutty with pictures.

I swear, I am NOT the Lindsay Lohan of the blog world.

Taking silly photos of cat portraits in the bathroom?

Check! BTW- Don’t you think Iz needs a portrait like this? Totes.

While the blogger silliness was going down there was also a giveaway. Kaitlin almost won. Almost.

 

But Amanda actually did win! She got a bottle of wine AND a gift card. All told, the boos left with 5 bottles of booze.

And we finished eating dessert. Chef Cindy hooked us up with cookies!

and chocolate cupcakes! I only had one bite because it was my third cake of the day (we have support equal marriage cake at school and I had a cake pop earlier in the day).

It was very, very chocolatey!

After dessert the party wound down. The swag bags were handed out as we left, and I must say, amazing swag bag! There was another bottle of wine, coffee, power bars, candy, chocolate, EVO, crackers and a bottle opener! Overall, this was probably one of my favorite events I’ve been to. The people at Fresh and Easy know how to keep bloggers happy (simple formula: alcohol + cheese + dessert + swag bag = blogger happiness).

Big thanks to Fresh and Easy and RL Public Relations (Allison is with us, above) for throwing an amazing event!

What is your favorite type of wine? As discussed, I am a Pinot Noir girl but I am also partial to Malbec.